2,358 Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI Purchased by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,358 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of MKS by 1,734.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 422 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $320.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.22 and a 12 month high of $326.83. The company has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of MKS from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MKS from $354.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.99, for a total transaction of $446,586.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,118,127.25. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. This represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,313 shares of company stock worth $6,253,264. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high?technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.